I keep seeing these posts all over social media. First the Big Five can only kill themselves, currently, there are a million titles per year published through the big five and their dozens of imprints, but there are 4 million titles published through indie/small presses each year. Yes, the channels are more challenging for the small press and the stigma of self-publishing lingers, but that is changing. While paper books are tricky to get to a profitable point on small scales, ebooks, which are now nearly half the new book market, are easily profitable at a price that makes them affordable for the average reader.

Given that traditional publishers pay the creator a dollar or two per copy, if the author is willing to take the same size royalty from their own work, they can be competitive even in print. Now there are basically unlimited paths to publishing, so write your literary fiction. Self-promote the hell out of it. Here is a dirty little secret, unless you are James Patterson or Stephen King or their ilk, the big five never have and never will put much money and effort behind making your book a bestseller. So whether you get a contract and an advance, or if you have to hustle your own press, you are going to have to do about the same amount of work to sell a copy.

Which brings to the next point: Nobody reads books anymore, nobody buys books anymore, nobody writes and reads poetry anymore. The truth is about 10,000 people make a decent living ($50,000+) each year selling new books, sure only a couple hundred make rock star money, and sure, unless you are a well known celebrity, like the  recently dead Jimmy Carter (nice guy, but most of his poetry  sucked) or a Pulitzer prize winner (and even most Pulitzers don’t earn big bucks, but Poetry doesn’t get you rich, unless you are the next big thing. Books, in general, pay about as well as they ever have. And they sell better than ever. The average American buys 3 new paper books and spends over $3 on ebooks each year, they also check out about 8 books (all sorts) from the library, and yes, the author makes money if the library carries their book, ebook or paper. People also buy 3-4 used books each year. So people are actually reading more books than ever in history!

As a writer, you might think the used book is in competition with your new book, but it isn’t. a new book costs $20+ and a used book costs $2-$5, which means if I have never heard of you, I am more likely to pick up your title at a thrift shop and give it a try, then if I love your work, I’ll Spring for the $20 to get your newest title. Used books are a great marketing tool to find new readers!

The next time you hear a whining writer complaining about he market know these were people  who would have complained about something at any point in history. Publishing is wide open and growing. No, of the 5 million titles, most will never make a major profit, but neither does any other easy entry business model, be it direct sales, food trucks or a mom-and-pop store front, and of all these, book writing and publishing has the lowest entry point cost wise. So go write a damn book and get it in the marketplace. Learn how to market, first rule is do you own work, don’t hire a marketing team, but read everything you can find about how to sell your book. The best thing to do  is write the best book you can!

Someone read this and could not figure out my point, or points, so if they were confused, others might be, too, so, I will attempt a clarification:

My main point is the doom and gloom shared among writers, for whatever reason, is not helpful nor is it factually correct. The publishing market is as strong as ever, the money is as good as ever.

Besides the Big Five and the approximately 500 imprints they own or control, there are literally thousands of indie publishers, and of course one can always be their own publisher.

Helpful hint: set up a print on demand publishing house and invite a few writer friends and/or writers whose work you admire to send you a manuscript or two to consider, so that you are not simply publishing yourself. It gives you, and them, more credibility, and helps promote both you and their work. Be sure not to work for free but also don’t try to rip them off. If you can price the books are 2-4 dollars above printing costs at discounted pricing, and split the profit 50/50 with the author, that seems reasonable.( i.e. lets say your print cost for the book is $5, and the disturbed sale price (50% of retail) so you retail the book for $18.00, you collect $9.00 from the bookseller and you and the author each get $2.00, that creates a competitive price, a reasonable profit to share. Of course, if you spend money on marketing, that has to come out before any profit calculations)

The second thing you will hear writers complain about is that people just don’t buy books. They may not buy YOUR books for one of several reasons.

1. Your books aren’t that good. Always read other books in your genre, make sure your work is up to the market.
2. Your editing is not up to professional standards.
3. Your price is not competitive. Shop around for printers. People will not pay more for a indie publisher’s books than a Big Five book. If you cant find a printer at a reasonable price, try ebooks as they have no print costs.
4. Your marketing strategy is not right for your book.
5. You spend more time complaining about people not buying your books than you spend marketing your books.

There can be other factors, but the one thing you can be sure is the problem isn’t that people are not buying books. Americans spend over $2 BILLION dollars on books each year!

So, the main point is stop whining, keep writing, and remember why you write. If you are only writing to get rich, you would probably do better spending your energy learning how to be an investment banker or something. If you love to write, to tell stories, to share those stories  with others, and if you learn your craft  and practice it to your best abilities, you will have a certain level of success, depending on what your goals are.